Tuesday, February 19, 2013

One of
London’s most important fashion events has come to an end. For five days, over
200 designers showcased their brand new Autumn/Winter Collections at London Fashion Week showing their
vision to the world.

Like every
other fashion lover, we watched this event closely (read this preview of the event) and we gathered some highlights of this show. Below, we’ll mention the most
common trends from different designers and some of what we think that will be trending on the next Autumn/Winter 2013.

Please note that this post is a personal perspective
of the event, written by Irina Quintela. Irina is the founder of Styling Up, a style shop that provides an online fashion styling service for women based on body shape and size.

Prints and Graphic Lines

Autumn/Winter
2013 will be all about prints and graphic lines. Floral prints are becoming a thing
of the past, and prints are now more African inspired. Some of the prints that
walked the runway were actually pretty wild (in a good way). We
love them!

Graphic
lines will also be trending and, according to what we saw on the catwalk,
geometry is all around several collections. Whether straight or curved lines…
this is a trend we really want to wear. For fans of geometry, this is the trend
to follow!

Here are a
few examples of what we saw on the catwalk:

Geometric lines were all over LFW and they are stunning

Some of the prints we saw on the catwalk

Monochrome inspiration

We saw lots
of collections inspired by the monochrome mix. We love the combination between
black and white. It provides a great contrast and this can be a really easy
combination to pull off.

Below, a
few examples of monochrome from the designer’s collections:

Oh yes, monochrome was in almost every collection

Trending colors: Red, Gold / Yellow, Blue, Green

Red, Gold
or Yellow, Blue and Green will surely pop out of the catwalk straight to the
streets. We saw some awesome combinations and splash of colors. Autumn Winter
2013 will surely be a more colorful season with these vibrant colors. These
also look great in accessories, when just wearing a monochrome look.

Examples
from the catwalk:

Bright colors will be trending on the next AW 2013

Super long length skirts and dresses

Skirts and dresses have
gained a new stylish length. We already knew mini, midi and long skirts… but
now, here are the fashionable new super long skirts and dresses. Super long because they’re
way longer than the traditional long skirts and they can practically “kiss” the
floor. We’re totally embracing this and can’t wait to see this on the streets.

We also
noticed that skirts are moving away from mini and embracing the midi and
slightly below the knee length. This might be really great news for the ones
who were tired of the super miniskirts.

Dresses and Skirts had mid or super long length

Overall,
this was a great show and we’re really eager to see these trends on the high
street. We also noticed that the trends are heading to a much more “clean”
design with clean lines, bright colors and strong & geometric patterns. We
can’t wait to see this spreading…

What about
you? Have you followed London Fashion Week’s AW 2012? What trends will you surely wear and which ones will you run away from?

Thursday, February 14, 2013

London Fashion Week starts tomorrow. Here's a preview of what to expect, written by Fi, from the blog "We Heart Colourful".

London fashion week (LFW) is one of the highest-profile fashion events in the world, being among the ‘big four’ international catwalk influencers (the others being New York, Paris and Milan). You can read part one of our London Fashion week preview over at weheartcolourful.com.

So what can we expect from the London leg of this season's fashion circus?

High-street brands

More and more high-street brands have to staging catwalk shows in recent years - this year's London fashion week will see River Island make its debut with its Rihanna collaboration, while upmarket high-street chain Whistles will host a salon show.

Meanwhile H&M, which has previously hosted fashion events with the likes of Versace, is preparing to make its Paris fashion week debut with a show at the Musée Rodin in a couple of weeks' time.

Here in the UK, Topshop's label, Unique, has shown at London fashion week for more than ten years, while American label J Crew has enjoyed huge success at New York fashion week, taking part the shows there for the fourth time next Tuesday.

Androgyny

The fusion of masculine and feminine aesthetics will be a strong theme at this season's London fashion week. The strength and effectiveness of this fashion phenomenon will lie wholly in the subtleties.

Slight references to the opposite gender in outfit cuts, hair - and the occasional bit of understated makeup. However, Very much at play for AW13 will be is shoulder-length hair.

Mid-length, grungey-but-neat hair, perches neatly between androgyny and masculinity - it's simply up to the viewer to choose which way the look sways.

Martin Van der Horst’s anti-consumerist influences are the perfect complement of the androgynous.

Fi is one half of fashion, beauty and lifestyle blog, We Heart Colourful. She loves colour clashing, fashion innovation and vintage styling, and is a big jewellery fanatic. Fi really enjoys collaborating with other bloggers and brands she loves, or just hearing what her readers have to say.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

We love this because
it’s a great outfit for casual, evening, weekend or party. For party events if
you don’t want to use flats, just replace them with some platform or pump shoes
and you’re ready to go!

Monday, February 11, 2013

Boden,
Allsole and My Bag have joined the Styling Up family and now you can also find
recommendations from our stylists for your body shape and size for the brands available at these top retailers.

Boden is a
British retailer that has a collection with awesome quality for price. They offer a wide variety of tops, dresses, pants and
also a large collection of knitwear. Their designs are great for formal-work,
evening or weekend occasions and their fabric quality is also great.

All Sole
is specialized in footwear. It has several high street and high end brands and
a wide variety of all kinds of footwear. You can find all the latest heels,
flats, ballerinas, boots, etc, from top brands like Ash, Barbour, Hunter,
Melissa, Ted Baker, Ugg, Vans, Vivienne Westwood for Melissa and many others.

My Bag
is a retailer that has the latest bags, handbags, from several top high street
and high end brands. Their labels include The Cambridge Satchel, Ted Baker,
Herschel, Barbour, Ted Baker and many, many more.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

During these cold winter months it can be
really easy to get yourself in a winter rut. Everyone loves themselves a good
cozy sweater but after your first three weeks of wearing them, the layer look
can tend to get a bit old. You find yourself day dreaming of light cardigans
and cute sandals.

Well ladies, since the groundhog hasn’t
given us his verdict yet, we have to suck it up and find some new ways to spice
up our winter wardrobe. You may rockin’ those sweaters for another two months,
might as well get the most out of them!

# Scarves
are Your New Best Friend

At times scarves may seem a bit cumbersome
and well dorky, but the truth is scarves are super cute! Although, we are at least half way through
the winter season, it’s never too late to search for the perfect scarf. When
its super cold and overcast out, a great look is to rock a big oversize sweater
with a pair of leggings and cute boots. Throw on your scarf for a pop of
color and texture and you got yourself one chic winter look.

# A
Long Strand of Pearls

There’s nothing like a long strand of pearls
to add some glamour to your outfit. The problem with winter clothes is that
they tend to lend themselves to more darker, mundane colors and thicker
fabrics, which can end up looking bland. A great way to add some shimmer and
spice up these outfits is with a classic pearl necklace. No not your Grandma’s old lady pearls, a
really cute and trendy pearl necklace! A long 36 inch double
strand necklace works perfectly with sweaters. The long layered look of a
pearl necklace gives you that elegant feel and helps to lighten your winter
load.

# Wear
Many Hats

I
remember as a little girl during the winter months my mother would always make
me throw on a hat to wear while I waited for the bus. I hated wearing a hat!
But now as a mature adult, I’ve come to totally appreciate the glam that comes
with a super cute hat. During the summer wearing a hat just isn’t as chic and
well let’s be honest, not so practical.
But in the winter a maroon ( or any other style) hat can add some much
needed flavor to your layered ensemble, while still keeping you warm as you run
to catch the train.

# Pick
the Right Kind of Sweaters

A
staple of any winter wardrobe is obviously a bunch of sweaters. But it’s not
always so easy. It’s all about getting the right sweaters that work best for
your style. A great tip is to look for longer sweaters that are open, more like
a longer warmer over-sized cardigan.
These sweaters look great on almost any body type and with almost any
kind of style. You can throw these sweaters over a pair of jeans or even a nice
skirt for work. Because of the length of these sweaters they end up being more
slim fitting and not bulky. Redefine your sweaters and bare this tip in mind!

Don’t let the winter months get you down.
Adapt these tips to your everyday winter wardrobe and you’ll be sure to see an
improvement in the way you feel about winter chic.

This post was written by Hannah Toran, a writer
for the luxury pearl jewelry company. To follow more of her styling tips and
fashion finds, follow Hannah’s work at Pearl & Clasp’s company blog.

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

February 14th
is arriving and like all special occasions it’s perfect to wear a stunning
outfit. Whether you’re going out or staying at home, having dinner or lunch,
this is a great opportunity to show off a stylish outfit.

To help you
in that task, our fashion stylists put together 10 outfit ideas for Valentine’s
Day, that are available at our style
shop. Some are hot dresses, others include pants or even jumpsuits. Just
remember that the secret to look stunning is to feel stunning. An extra tip we’d
like to give you is that you should ALWAYS
shop for your body shape.

About Styling Up

Styling Up is an online fashion styling service for women based on body shape and size where all clothes are recommended by fashion stylists. Check out our style shop to see what our stylists recommend for you.